China (People’s Republic of) vs Japan: Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants

China (People’s Republic of)
1,763 Patents
in 2022
Japan
2,344 Patents
in 2022
China (People’s Republic of) rank
5th
Japan rank
4th

Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants over time

  • China (People’s Republic of)
  • Japan
05.0k10.0k15.0k197820002022

How they compare

Japan currently reports 2,344 Patents against 1,763 Patents in China (People’s Republic of), a difference of 581 Patents.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.3 times China (People’s Republic of)'s.

Across all 45 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.

China (People’s Republic of) ranks 5th and Japan ranks 4th of 88 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade China (People’s Republic of) Japan Difference Ahead
1970s 0 Patents 324.46 Patents 324.46 Patents Japan
1980s 6.12 Patents 4,804 Patents 4,798 Patents Japan
1990s 16.82 Patents 9,348 Patents 9,331 Patents Japan
2000s 559.43 Patents 11,967 Patents 11,408 Patents Japan
2010s 4,870 Patents 13,648 Patents 8,778 Patents Japan
2020s 3,694 Patents 4,726 Patents 1,032 Patents Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher patents in oecd selected technologies — patent grants, China (People’s Republic of) or Japan?
Japan, at 2,344 Patents against 1,763 Patents in China (People’s Republic of) as of 2022.
What is the difference in patents in oecd selected technologies — patent grants between China (People’s Republic of) and Japan?
581 Patents, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China (People’s Republic of) and Japan?
45 years are reported by both, from 1978 to 2022.
How do China (People’s Republic of) and Japan rank globally for patents in oecd selected technologies — patent grants?
China (People’s Republic of) ranks 5th and Japan ranks 4th of 88 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China (People’s Republic of) vs Japan: Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://science-tech.statizoid.com/compare/patents-in-oecd-selected-technologies-patent-grants/china/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Patents in OECD selected technologies — Patent grants
Unit
Patents
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
104 places, 4,680 data points, 1978–2022
Last refreshed

Patent counts by technology (including total patents, estimated total patents for latest years): EPO, USPTO, PCT and Patent Families indicators are presented for selected technology domains such as ICT, Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology, biotechnology as well as environment-related and health-related technologies.